The Opioid Crisis Is Driving Down U.S. Life Expectancy, New Data Shows

January 5, 2018

“In 2016, the average American’s life expectancy dropped to 78.6 years, the second time in two years the U.S has seen a dip in how long people are expected to live.

Drug overdose deaths, propelled by the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis, were the most influential factor behind the decline in American life expectancy, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the mortality statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which produced the new data released Thursday. These fatal drug overdoses have also killed younger Americans more than any other age group.”